Various medical procedures require suctioning of a patient's mouth. A typical situation is when oral care procedures are performed on an intubated patient. Yankauer suction devices for this purpose are generally known and include an elongated suction tube connectable at one end to a suction source. The other end includes a suction tip with one or more suction holes that is placed in the patient's mouth. The conventional devices suction well and are relatively rigid to allow the clinician to reach remote areas of the mouth that require suctioning.
A concern with the conventional devices is cleanliness and the risk of contamination. The suction devices are typically used for a twenty-four hour period and then disposed of. Between uses, however, the devices must be cleaned and stored in an environment that minimizes the risk of harboring and incubating bacteria from the mouth. This is a burdensome task and, unfortunately, not always followed. The devices typically end up on the floor, are placed on a ledge or other non-sterile surface, or shoved under the patient's pillow wherein they are considered contaminated and must be disposed of. This situation can add substantial cost and inconvenience to the healthcare of the patient.
Attempts have been made to alleviate certain of the problems associated with the Yankauer devices. For example, sheathed devices are know wherein the suction tube is covered by a sleeve or “sheath” between uses. The sheath, however, does not clean the suction tube and may actually foster an environment for rapid growth of bacteria on the surface of the tube. U.S. Pat. No. 6,500,142 describes a suctioning device incorporating a retractable, protective sheath. After use of the device, the clinician slides the sheath forward over the suction tube. The device includes an automatic closure or cap attached to the distal end of the sheath that engages the suction tip and automatically moves to a position to close the cap over the suction tip, essentially isolating the suction tube within the capped sheath. However, unless the suction tube and tip are thoroughly cleaned before deploying the sheath and cap, any bacteria from the patient's mount on the tube and tip will remain and possibly grown, which can lead to re-infection of the patient with subsequent use of the device.
The present invention relates to an improved Yankauer suctioning device that addresses certain of the drawbacks of conventional devices, particularly the sheathed devices.